A lot can happen in football in a week. Since i last posted Roy Hodgson and Roy Keane are 2 high profile managerial casualties. Neither was unexpected. Kenny Dalglish taking over from Hodgson was a little unexpected. It also smacks of desperation from the Liverpool owners who are trying to shift the blame of Liverpool's awful season squarely onto the shoulders of the sacrificial lamb that is Roy Hodgson. Hodgson's record was poor. Liverpool sit 12th in the league having lost 9 games out of 20 and winning just 7. Despite the stats i don't believe that Hodgson was given a fair shot by the Anfield faithful. The fans didn't feel that he was up to the job from the moment he started and berated him for the poor results. They called for King Kenny to replace him and also pleaded for Rafa Benitez to return to the club. I have to say i am amazed at the short memory of some Liverpool fans. Rafa Benitez is the reason why Liverpool are sitting in 12th position in the league. They have criticised Hodgson's signings which i think is unfair. Christian Poulsen has 81 caps for Denmark. He won the Copa del Rey and Uefa Cup with Sevilla and played 48 times with Juventus. In reality he should be a perfect partner to Gerrard in midfield as he is a defensive player. Joe Cole excited Liverpool fans when Hodgson signed him. It now looks like Cole's best days are behind him but most managers would have felt that he was worth the gamble for free. The signing of Paul Konchesky looks a poor one now but during the Summer he was well sought after. Benitez wasted an unbelievable amount of money on dreadful players and drove Xabi Alonso out of Anfield with his pursuit of Gareth Barry. Glen Johnson, Fabio Aurelio, Maxi Rodriguez, Ryan Babel, Ngog, Insua, etc. etc. were Benitez signings. Horrendous signings. The fact that Fernando Torres no longer wants to be at the club, Stephen Gerrard looks as though he wished he had signed for Chelsea and Jamie Carragher is not the player he once was  should have been addressed before sacking Hodgson. Benitez last season in charge ended with Liverpool in 7th position and with the current squad that's where they belong. The fact that they are only 5 points behind Bolton (who are in 7th) and have 2 games in hand means Hodgson was on course to achieve that. I think Kenny will lead Liverpool away from the relegation zone (which i think Hodgson would also have done) but Torres should be sold so that Liverpool have funds to re enforce the squad. The axe should also be wielded to a whole host of underachieving players in order to move forward.

I have absolutely no idea what Harry Redknapp is thinking with his pursuit of David Beckham. His Spurs team sit in 4th position in the league and are through to the knockout stages of the Champions League. Surely the signing of Beckham will cause huge unrest among a squad who have achieved so much already. The wide players like Aaron Lennon and Luka Modric would be sickened if they lost their places to a guy who threw his career away by moving to America. Beckham has scored just 9 goals in 48 appearances for L.A. Galaxy. That's a pathetic stat for a player who is the team's set piece specialist in what can only be described as a joke of a league. Beckham signed the death warrant on his own career and Redknapp should stay well away from him.
Congratulations to Lionel Messi who won the Balon d'Or. I would have loved to have seen Xavi win the award because his contribution to Barcelona is sometimes overshadowed by his brilliant team mate but it's hard to argue against Messi who scored 60 goals in 2010.